PMC- Day 1 and 2- Who do we ride for?

I'm writing this from the comfort of home on a soft couch- a lack of Wi-fi on Saturday prevented an earlier post. I'm going to start this PMC post with who we riding for. You may have heard me describe the Pan Mass Challenge as an exhilarating but emotional experience. Exhilarating for the riding, but emotional for the cause- finding cures for cancer. Who do we PMC for? For relatives, friends, children, neighbors, and for the loved ones of those who sponsor our ride.

As we are riding over the weekend (and even in day zero), people line the course and simply say, "thank you for riding", or "you are my heroes". During Day 1, I cycled past a teenage girl standing next to her parents I holding a sign that said, "Because of you I am 17". A heart wrenching but uplifting message, and I really wished I had doubled back to meet the young lady and take her photo. But the same opportunity arose at the third sag today (on day 2), when a young boy had this sign:

An example of the punch to your reality that this ride can give, that cancer can strike anyone at any time. Teams of riders can adopt "pedal partners", young children with cancer who the team sponsors, gets to know and, who meet up during a SAG stop in day 1.

How can we help? By raising money, raising awareness and never giving up. I'd like to thank my 112 sponsors who helped me raise over $8000- together we are doing what we can.

So how was the rest of the weekend you ask? It was a glorious weekend of cycling- sunny, with temps in the mid 80's. We started out from Sturbridge at 5:30 am- 5000 riders strong, an amazing site to behold.

I started the day biking with my cycling buddies from day zero, plus my good friend Michael and a friend we made from last year's ride, Veronica from Palo Alto (who amazingly biked cross-country from her home in Palo Alto to link up with last year's PMC- this year she merely flew but she has certainly earned her place in PMC lore).

Day 1 is a long day in the saddle- 110 miles. I always under-estimate the day since Day Zero is a tougher overall day of cycling. It was warm enough to cause leg cramps in a number of less experienced riders and cause a few others to need iv fluids by the end of the day. But for the experienced and conditioned rider, it's a lovely day of cycling that gives your legs a good challenge and makes you feel very glad when you get off the bike in Bourne.

Some people cool off their hard working butts by sitting on ice couches at the SAG stops.

The route is gorgeous, and as you approach Bourne, you get glimpses of marshland and then of Buzzards Bay. We choose to camp in tents at our overnight destination- the Mass Maritime Academy. Camping has its charms after a day in the saddle.

Day 2 is like candy- a "short" 74 mile day along the length of Cape Cod. Cyling this route is such a great way to see this beautiful part of the state.

The thing I look forward to most on Day 2 is "Da Hedge", a long hedge in Brewster with hundreds of screaming spectators. It's legendary and always a blast!

Here are some other fun images of the day:

More cowbell!!

We finished the day in Provincetown, happy to have all arrived safe and sound, and very happy to have experienced this amazing ride- shared with close friends, and thousands of other cyclists, volunteers, and spectators. Thanks to everyone who contributed or just read about this experience. Hope you enjoyed the ride, I certainly did!

 

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Day Zero- $500 million!!

Day Zero of the PMC was a fabulous day- 97 miles, over 6000 feet of climbing made as easy as possible by a tail wind, sunny weather in the 80's, lovely white cloud cover at just the right time, and a fair amount of shade on the route.

We started out from our usual motel in West Stockbridge with a pretty good sized crew (cycling buddies and other PMC cycling friends) then biked 4 miles to the NY border.

The day zero ride takes us through western Mass and the Berkshires, with lovely mountain views and bucolic scenery. We passed through pretty towns like Stockbridge, Lee, Beckett, Chester, Northampton. And of course, on your way, if your bike needs any frame work, you can always stop by Carlson Auto Body- I am sure they work on bikes if they are indeed my relatives.

I am lucky to be riding with my good friends Linda, John and Paul. We were also joined by Linda's nephew Max and his girlfriend Kelly, who is a new road cyclist this year and biked all 97 miles in sneakers. Pretty impressive!

And a big shout out to Paul's Father-in-Law Lyle who sagged for us all day. It is awsome to have SAG support out there. Thanks Lyle!!

Now this ride is all about raising money to fight cancer. I ride in memory of loved ones I've lost to cancer and several friends and loved ones who have recently battled and beaten cancer. My friends, Adam, Zach and Matt ride in memory of Adam's Mom, Effie who passed away 7 years ago from cancer. Go Team Effie!

We learned tonight that the PMC is shooting to raise $500 million cumulative since 1980, when 36 riders road and raised $10,000. This year our target is $45 million (we've raised $28 million so far) and to accomplish this there are 6200 riders and 4000 amazing volunteers. This is such a well oiled machine! They even had Pedro tell us how much we have to raise- 45 million. Of course he was number 45!

Here are some fun photos from the day, including a well timed ice cream and snack break by Paul and me, 10 miles from the end of the ride (I was starting to bonk so good timing). Also a random meet up with the amazing Galen Mook, one of my favorite Boston bike advocates and the man reponsible for getting Mayor Marty Walsh on a bike this year. Marty Walsh is doing the ride as is Governor Charlie Baker. John Kerry, a 12 year rider, admonished us by video to be careful out there and not break a leg like he did!

 

 

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Ready to ride the Pan Mass!!

West Stockbridge to Provincetown- 3 days, 280 miles

Tonight we drive out to West Stockbridge, and tomorrow morning we'll bike to the NY State border to start the Pan Mass Challenge ride- 280 miles over three days across this lovely state of ours. This will be my fourth PMC, and my third starting from the NY border (the traditional ride starts from Sturbridge but my crazy friends and I like to start on the NY state border to cross the entire state). Getting stoked! The weather looks great- 80's and sunny for all three days. It might get toasty mid-day, but hey, I'm riding my bike with my good friends, and riding for a great cause. I'll be riding with the memories of loved ones who have passed away from cancer, and riding with the strength from loved ones and friends who have successfully fought off cancer, and riding alongside friends who are cancer survivors- living proof that you can beat cancer and live a normal life. There are more and more of such success stories thanks to the continued progress in cancer research. But there is still so much to do....

I am once again blown away by the generosity of my friends and family. I reached my goal of raising $7500- funding that has come from 109 incredible individuals. Your money will be part of a target of $45 million dollars that will go towards the fight against cancer. Thank you all!  Also thanks to everyone who contributed to my Anchor House ride and helped me raise over $2000 for this very worthwhile cause. The next blog post will be from Sturbridge, after 97 miles of pedaling on Day Zero.

Interested in contributing if you haven't had the chance?  See: www2.pmc.org/profile/KC0258

Day 7 Bethlehem to Trenton- it poured but we stayed dry

We woke up on day 7 to a huge thunderstorm. A front was coming through the area, and most of the riders camped out at the hotel for an extra hour and waited out the storm. We got rolling late, around 8:30, but luckily day 7 is a short day- just 54 miles to our picnic lunch at 1 pm in Pennington but we would need to bike efficiently to get in. The skies were cloudy, but there was no rain in the morning forecast and a threat of thunderstorms later. We made sure to vocally remind ourselves to be extra careful today, as day 7 on the Anchor House ride has had its share of biking accidents, some of them very serious. And the roads were very wet.

Before we knew it, we were biking across the Delaware River into Phillipsburg NJ. What gave you the first sign that we were approaching a bridge??

We rolled through the lovely northwest NJ countryside, over very familar roads from previous rides.

All was going well as we cruised south along the Delaware River approaching Stockton, when one of our cycling buddies went down real hard as he crossed a really slick set of railroad tracks. It was clear to us that he had likely suffered a concussion and a separated shoulder, but since none of us were doctors, we could not know the full extent of his injuries. As any of us would do, our friend insisted that he was fine to keep biking. My friends DJ, Chrissie and I stuck to our guns, pointing out the cracked helmet and his lack of memory of anything since before the fall, and we initiated a 911 call for an ambulance. Our logic and insistence prevailed, and within the hour, our friend was on his way to the hospital, still not convinced that he needed to go (turns out he did- more later). High praise to Chrissie and DJ for loyally staying with our friend as the three of us negotiated our way through this potentially dicey situation with our good friend. Turns out another rider had fallen at an earlier railroad crossing and suffered a broken hip.

Having lost an hour on an otherwise shortened riding day, Chrissie, DJ and I put our heads down and worked together to pound out the remaining 34 miles to the picnic. We got there with 30 minutes to spare and quickly wolfed down lunch.

At the picnic, we learned that the House had raised over $460,000, well on our way to our $500,000 plus goal. If you'd like to give but haven't had a chance, it's not too late (www.anchorhouseride.org/donate). At the picnic, awards were also given out, including a Spirit award to "Team Youts". So proud of our Youts!!

Before leaving the picnic, we heard from our friend that he indeed had a concussion and a separated shoulder but that he was being released and would see us at the mall. That made us very happy of course, and the parade route to the finish at Quakerbridge Mall was festive as we biked the last ten miles with a police escort.

The mall ceremony was short and sweet, with hundreds of family and friends cheering us on.

We saw our friend, his arm in a sling and smile on his face, as we picked up our bags and bikes and said our goodbyes. All in all, it was a wonderful week of cycling, camaraderie, and caring for one another and for the kids of Anchor House. Incredibly, not a drop of rain and lovely cycling temperatures all week in what had promised to be a wet week. Clearly someone was smiling down on us. This ride makes me appreciate my close friends and Anchor House riding buddies, the amazing volunteers who make this ride happen, and my favorite Anchor House cycling partner, my son, Adam.

Stay tuned for charity ride number two- the Pan Mass Challenge starting July 31. I hope my ravenous appetite subsides before then, otherwise I'll be carrying some extra weight up those Berkshire mountains...

 

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